Strategic Direction Versus Initiative Planning
Competent planning is a vital reality check on exuberant strategy, and sound strategy gives planning the direction to bring about change.
The Commons
Essays
Everything published, most recent first. Two a week: a standalone piece, and a reflection on that week's conversation.
337 essays
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LeadershipGovernanceManagementOrganisationsStrategyEthicsPhilosophyHistoryPoliticsPsychologyTechnologyArtificial Intelligence
Leading Complexity and Managing Complication
When Line Managers lack the hard skills of process design and implementation, the capacity to initiate changes in procedure, or the ability to write sound policy, and instead try to *lead* their team to success by hiring or co-opting other managers in the business to solve their problems, an engine
The Commons
The Ties of Informal Leadership
Informal leadership works best through small, closed ties of three people, combining trust and task focus. When ties are only bilateral or too numerous, informal leadership weakens and can undermine organisational effectiveness.
Free to read
The Boundaries of Informal Leadership
Informal leadership is most effective when conducted with a small number of closed ties (involving three people) and a mix of friendship- and task-orientated activities. When the ties are open (involving only two people) or become too numerous, informal leadership begins to break down and can hinder
The Commons
Are Hierarchies Healthy for Organisations?
Hierarchy itself doesn’t harm performance; knowledge hoarding does. Teams can thrive with deep hierarchies if information flows openly. When managers hide knowledge or deflect with “above your pay grade,” performance and culture quickly erode.
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Managing as a Coach
By stepping away from being a subject matter expert and toward a focus on people and coaching, a manager is in a much better position to transform their job into a leadership role.
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The Value of a Chief of Staff
A good CoS helps a leader achieve their potential in a sustainable way that delivers long term success when managing complex organisations.
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Leading Psychological Safety in Teams
The challenges in creating psychological safety are in some ways more complex for managers because they not only need to lead the process, but also lead themselves in the initiation of the process.
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Recovery Experiences and Your Mood at Work
By taking charge of our recovery experiences, we have the power to become masters of our mood at work.
The Commons
Running Effective Meetings
Meetings are the space in our day we make to provide some sort of service to other people.
Free to read
A Psychological Safety Primer
Going against the grain may make people feel unsafe, yet it is through this process that true psychological safety is ultimately achieved—because people feel safe to feel unsafe and to challenge the status quo.
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DEI: A Continuum of Acceptance, Understanding, and Questioning
Successful DEI comes down to balance—ensuring that belief doesn't descend into ideology. A process that is founded on the bedrock of psychological safety.
The Commons
Leading AI-First Organisations
By employing leaders capable of creating an AI framework — because they are awake and aware to the unintended effects of AI on social well-being, data integrity and privacy, diversity, and governance — organisations seeking to transform into being AI-first are well positioned to engage in trustworth
Inner Circle
Forging Resilience Through Adaptability
As our adaptability mindset strengthens, resilience will also improve because individuals and teams are better equipped to absorb shocks today and use the energy to bounce forward into sustainable growth tomorrow.
The Commons
Leading At Scale
When leadership is exerted in this form, organisations become increasingly accountable, agile, and autonomous — all the while operating at scale. At this point, an organisation can truly be described as 'purpose-driven' — a genuinely awesome competitive advantage.
The Commons